Dementia Murals- More Than Just Wall Art

Why Use Dementia Murals

Dementia Murals can offer a cost-effective way to introduce interesting areas in the care environment. Area’s that can help to reduce agitation and aggression, reduce the need for antipsychotic drugs and improve overall well being and quality of life for people living with dementia.

Are all Murals Equal?

There is a lot of conflicting views on the use of murals in the dementia environment. The important thing to remember is that everyone is different and every day can be different for a person with dementia.

As the environment directly affects the behaviours of someone with dementia, any changes you make must not cause bewilderment, must not be overstimulating and above all, must not create a false reality, as this can be highly detrimental and do more harm than good.

If used correctly dementia Mural’s can help create an environment that encourages interaction and communication. An environment that is not sterile or bland but creates a sense of purpose for those who use it.

The benefits of using Dementia Murals

Why would you use a mural (or other artwork)?

Orientation purposes/feature walls
To create choices of defined areas where a person can spend time and enjoy activities

Without orientation aids, corridors all look the same and can be very confusing. If there are no focal points or support mechanisms in place to support people, they will lose their independence and can either become agitated and distressed or simply stop moving around for fear of getting lost. Either response is likely to increase the risk of falls, through lack of concentration or reduced muscle strength.

Most dementia care environments are secure and therefore movement is restricted. By creating pathways of interest around the building, we aim to replicate community life as much as possible, without creating false realities. Going for a meaningful walk, collecting a newspaper from the shop or having a drink are all daily activities we take for granted. The choices we make are also rightly taken for granted as this is a human right. However, sadly for many in care setting choice as a human right denied them. The care setting is often managed with a focus on reducing risk, but there is a level of risk that is acceptable and creating a dementia-friendly environment can significantly reduce those risks as well enhancing quality of life – the two can work in unison.

Creating choice of defined areas helps people to identify the purpose the space has been designed for. Obvious examples would include:

When going into a café, you would expect to get a drink and perhaps a snack
When going to the pub, you would expect your favourite tipple, likeminded company and perhaps pub games and music
When going to a shop, you would expect goods to be available

But the murals are about so much more than simple design. Each individual mural section includes content explaining why it works, the furnishings required for optimum benefit and very importantly, we give you lots of activity ideas to ensure they are well used and people truly benefit.

Our murals are usually bespoke and designed to fit spaces exactly, in colour schemes to suit the environment. We are happy to arrange an environmental visit if you are looking to make best use of your environment and will work with you to create meaningful journeys to be enjoyed by everyone. Alternatively for small areas, send us photographs and measurements and we will design something for you.

Improved Nutrition: Dining areas that are designed to look like cafes/restaurants create a social dining experience promoting better appetites and empty plates.

The important thing to remember is that murals work best when they are relevant to the people who will see them, they should be used to help set a scene. They must have real, interactive elements to them, for example, if the mural is of a Post Office or a Cafe, there should be somewhere to post a letter or have a cup of coffee.

Here at Find, we have worked with care facilities across the UK to create areas within the care environment that work, and are not detrimental to the residents or patients that use them.

We advise you to talk to us if you are thinking of using Murals in the care environment and we can help you to create an area that will work for residents, patients and staff.

Free Environmental Visit

Do you want to create a dementia-friendly facility and improve your CQC and PLACE ratings?

Find Memory Care can help! Click here and complete the form to find out more about our environmental visits.

Dementia Murals- More Than Just Wall Art

Why Use Dementia Murals

Are all Murals Equal?

The benefits of using Dementia Murals

Free Environmental Visit

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